# Prepare for NEET-UG

> One pen-and-paper exam in May, 180 questions, +4/−1 — the pattern, the eligibility, and a plan built on NCERT because that is where the paper comes from.

- **Section:** Entrance exams · **Region:** India · **Difficulty:** hard
- **Time:** 12–24 months · exam on 3 May 2026 · results mid-June
- **Cost:** ₹1,700 (general) application fee; coaching optional
- **You end up with:** A NEET-UG score and All-India Rank used for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and nursing admission via MCC and state counselling
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-09-05 · **Canonical:** https://for.do/p/neet-ug/

## Before you start

- Age 17 by 31 December of the admission year; no upper age limit
- Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English in Class 12 with 50% in PCB (40% for reserved categories, 45% PwD)

NEET-UG is the single national entrance for undergraduate medicine and dentistry in India: one exam, one date, more than twenty lakh candidates. The exam rewards exact recall of NCERT and punishes guessing, so the preparation plan is unusual — breadth first, then accuracy, and only then speed.

## 1. Confirm eligibility and choose your medium

- [ ] Age 17 by 31 December of the year of admission; no upper limit.
- [ ] PCB with English in Class 12 and the qualifying percentage for your category.
- [ ] Decide the question-paper language at registration; it is locked afterwards.

## 2. Learn the paper

- [ ] 180 questions, 180 minutes, +4/−1, 720 marks, on OMR sheets — practise filling OMR under time, it is a skill.
- [ ] Biology is 90 questions (360 marks), Physics and Chemistry 45 each. The syllabus is the NMC-notified one on the NTA site; download it and tick chapters as you finish.

## 3. Finish NCERT first, line by line

- [ ] Biology: NCERT Class 11 and 12 read three times minimum, with the diagrams, tables and italic lines noted separately.
- [ ] Chemistry: NCERT theory for inorganic and organic; numericals from a standard problem book for physical.
- [ ] Physics: concepts from NCERT, problem practice from one reference book only — more books do not add marks.

## 4. Build the mock-test rhythm

- [ ] From month 8, one full-length mock every week on paper, at the real exam time (2 pm).
- [ ] Analyse every mock for the three error types: didn't know, knew but slipped, ran out of time. Fix them in that order.
- [ ] Track accuracy per subject; the goal is 90%+ accuracy on attempted questions before you increase attempts.

## 5. Register in the window

- [ ] Registration opens on neet.nta.nic.in around February; fee ₹1,700 for general, ₹1,600 general-EWS/OBC-NCL, ₹1,000 SC/ST/PwD/third gender (India centres).
- [ ] Keep the exact photograph and signature specs; rejected uploads are the commonest reason for a form correction fee.
- [ ] Choose centre cities where you can arrive the night before.

## 6. Exam day and after

- [ ] Reach by the reporting time (typically 1.30 pm for a 2 pm start), in the dress code, with the admit card and original ID.
- [ ] Attempt Biology first for confidence, then Chemistry, leave Physics numericals for the final block.
- [ ] Results by mid-June; register for MCC counselling (15% All-India quota, deemed and central universities) and your state counselling (85% quota) with domicile proof ready.

## Where people get this wrong

- Studying beyond NCERT before finishing NCERT. The overwhelming majority of Biology questions and much of Chemistry are lifted from NCERT lines; reference books come after, not instead.
- Attempting every question. With −1 for each wrong answer, a 60% accuracy guess loses marks; leave what you cannot narrow to two options.
- Ignoring Physics because Biology carries 360 marks. Physics is where ranks are separated at the top; abandoning it caps you below the government-college cutoff.
- Missing the state quota paperwork. 85% of state medical seats go through state counselling with domicile documents; those are collected months before results.

## Questions

**What is the pattern?**  
180 compulsory questions in 180 minutes: Physics 45, Chemistry 45, Biology 90 (Botany 45, Zoology 45). +4 for correct, −1 for wrong, 720 marks total. Pen and paper (OMR).

**How many attempts are allowed?**  
No limit. NTA does not cap attempts and has no upper age limit.

**Which languages?**  
13 languages including English, Hindi and major regional languages; the medium is chosen at registration and cannot be changed later.

## Tools used

- [NTA (JEE Main, NEET, CUET)](https://find.do/t/nta-portal/) (official) — India's National Testing Agency — the registration portals for JEE Main, NEET-UG and CUET.
- [Anki](https://find.do/t/anki/) — Spaced-repetition flashcards, free on desktop and Android.

## Sources

- [NTA — NEET (UG) 2026 (official)](https://neet.nta.nic.in)
- [ALLEN — NEET exam pattern 2026](https://allen.in/neet/exam-pattern)
- [Careers360 — NEET UG 180 questions for 720 marks](https://news.careers360.com/neet-ug-2025-candidates-attempt-180-questions-for-720-marks-marking-scheme-exam-duration/amp)